Tag: Somerset Academy
Florida schools roundup: Call for grand jury, security order, solemn day and more
Call for a grand jury: Gov. Ron DeSantis is calling for a statewide grand jury to investigate the actions of districts on safety and security in schools, and has issued an executive order relating to security in schools and the shooting deaths of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School[Read More…]
Charter takeover helped students ‘have a chance at life’
TALLAHASSEE — Three students from rural, impoverished Jefferson County on Tuesday testified before Florida’s House Education Committee about dramatic improvements at their schools since 2017, when the local district relinquished control of its traditional public schools to a charter school operator. Prior to the historic transformation, Jefferson County had been[Read More…]
Florida districts build partnerships with charter schools to alleviate overcrowding
The population was booming on the Gold Coast in the 1990s, surging by 20 percent in Broward and Miami-Dade alone, just as Florida passed a new law opening the door to charter schools. Maggie Fresen Zulueta, who helped create one of the state’s first charter schools, remembers the pressures[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: ‘Hope’ operators, school security and more
Hope operators: Two charter school companies have been named the state’s first “Hope operators” in a unanimous vote by the Florida Board of Education. Somerset Academy, managed by Miami-based Academica, and IDEA Public Schools of Texas will now have access to low-cost loans for facilities, state grants, a streamlined application[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: March, Hope operators, security, CRC and more
Student activism: Hundreds of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, parents and teachers are traveling to Washington, D.C., for the March For Our Lives rally Saturday. Another 800 or so marches calling for stricter gun laws are planned in cities around the world, and more than a million people are[Read More…]
Two charter school groups apply to become Florida ‘Hope Operators’
An award-winning South Texas charter school network and the group behind an unprecedented rural North Florida turnaround could soon become Florida’s first official “Schools of Hope” operators. IDEA Public Schools and Somerset Academy charter schools both applied to become Hope Operators. Department of Education staff found they met the requirements.[Read More…]
Florida schools roundup: Funding for schools, cold weather and more
School funding: Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida House appear headed for conflict over education funding when the Legislature convenes next Tuesday. Scott wants to boost education spending by allowing local districts to collect more in taxes as property values increase. House leaders say that’s a tax hike, and they[Read More…]